Fluorinated molecules are used in many applications, including medicinal chemistry and materials science (e.g., poly[tetrafluoroethylene] (“PTFE”)). In medicinal chemistry, fluorine atoms have been incorporated in drugs for therapeutic use. See, e.g., FIG. 1. Although enormous synthetic efforts have been made to enable the facile and selective incorporation of polyfluorinated groups into organic molecules, the discovery of novel structural platforms is rare. In addition, many polyfluorinated materials have significant physical limitations, including insolubility and non-biodegradability.
Despite recent advances in organic synthesis, access to compounds trifluoromethylated at sp3-hybridized carbon centers, and their derivatives, has been elusive.